


Early Riser

by Lenny9987



Series: Living It Up at Lallybroch AU Series [2]
Category: Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Fanfic for the Holidays, Other, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-19
Updated: 2016-01-19
Packaged: 2018-05-14 23:58:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5763997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lenny9987/pseuds/Lenny9987
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One eventful morning at Lallybroch when Brianna's about seven. Part of my Living It Up at Lallybroch AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Early Riser

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a Tumblr prompt from gothamruaidh - the prompt that kicked off the AU series, actually.
> 
> "gotham-ruaidh said: For your ficlets - can we see a story of a typical morning/day at Lallybroch from wee Brianna’s perspective? (Assuming she is being raised by Jamie and Claire at Lallybroch, together with the Murray children, and Murtagh of course)"

She felt Da’s hand rub the curls on her head and peeked an eye open. 

“Sorry mo nighean ruaidh,” he whispered. “I didna mean to wake ye. Just waiting on yer cousin.”

Brianna yawned and lifted her head from the pillow. Sure enough, she could hear Jamie fumbling to dress himself in the predawn.

“Ye’re goin hunting? I want to go too,” she said with a tired whine in her voice.

“When ye’re a bit older,” Da promised. “Ye’re shorter than a musket yet and I dinna want to think of how even a pistol would knock ye off yer feet. Get in more practice with a bow and we’ll see about next time.”

Brianna pouted and flopped her head down on the pillow with resignation.

“Since ye are awake, can ye promise me something?” Da asked, glancing over his shoulder to where Murtagh appeared in the doorway. “I need ye to keep an eye on yer Mam for me. See she takes care of herself. You know how she gets when she has a patient.”

“Aye, Da. I promise.”

Da smiled and bent to press a kiss to her temple, brushing a stray curl of her ruddy hair back behind her ear. 

“Jamie,” Murtagh hissed from the door. “The lad’s ready and Fergus is already outside waiting.”

“Dinna stay abed all morning, mo nighean ruaidh,” Da warned her as he rose and left the room.

Brianna closed her eyes and tried to return to sleep but having woken once, her ears pricked to the sounds of the rousing household: Mrs. Crook at work in the kitchen kneading dough in her usual manner of slapping it against the board; Auntie Jenny up with wee Ian whose wails for food quieted for a time before becoming the high-pitched chatter of an infant awake and looking for someone to play with. 

She heard her mother moving and making requests for more boiled water and clean strips of linen - it was time for her to change Rabbie’s dressings. He’d had an unfortunate accident while repairing a wagon the day before resulting in what Mam had called “a long and deep laceration to the forearm with possible tendon damage.” Mam had insisted Rabbie sleep in the house where she could tend him and be sure he didn’t develop a fever. 

Brianna slipped from bed and began to dress. She needed to help Mam - who spoke about Rabbie’s wound with both concern and excitement. Brianna had little stomach for healing and was glad to have missed Mam putting the stitches in the previous afternoon though she’d overheard the argument Mam had with Da over it, even from the kitchen.

“It is hardly more strenuous than sitting on my arse all day with the mending,” Mam had said loudly. “I know you’re concerned and I’ve promised not to go out tending the tenants in my condition but Rabbie is in our parlor so I damn well will tend him.”

Da had given in but insisted on helping hold Rabbie still lest he lash out during the process and inadvertently strike Mam.

As Brianna entered the kitchen Auntie Jenny had wee Ian held to her shoulder alternately rubbing and patting his back. “And what are  _you_  doing out of bed so early? The sun’s barely risen,” Auntie Jenny teased.

“I promised Da to help Mam wi’ Rabbie,” she declared with purpose. 

“Oh, ye did. Well, yer Mam needs those bandages to change the dressing on his arm,” Auntie Jenny nodded to the neatly folded strips of linen on the edge of the table. “Why don’t ye bring them to her while I heat some parritch for ye.”

Brianna carried the bandages carefully to Mam in the parlor. She had drawn a chair beside the cot where Rabbie lay sleeping restlessly. Mam leaned to feel his forehead with the back of her hand before stretching in an effort to get comfortable. She rested a hand on her swollen belly where the new baby was kicking her again. 

“Auntie Jenny said ye needed these,” Brianna said holding them out to her Mam while keeping her eyes on Rabbie. There were dark spots of blood that had seeped through the dressings from the night before. Brianna swallowed hard. “Da said I’m te help ye.”

“Oh he did, did he?” Mam asked taking the bandages. “Well, it’s sweet of you, darling, but I’m afraid I’m going to need your Auntie Jenny’s help holding him while I check the sutures. Perhaps you can keep an eye on Ian for her.”

Relieved, Brianna scampered back to the kitchen to tell Auntie Jenny. 

“Aye. Dinna let him at yer parritch,” Auntie Jenny said as she deposited Ian into Brianna’s lap before retrieving a bowl for the lass. “If he gives ye much trouble ye can put him on the floor and let him crawl about so long as he doesna get into things he shouldna. Yer cousins should be down to help soon,” she said raising her voice and looking to the ceiling that served as the floor to the room Brianna shared with Maggie and Kitty.

Brianna balanced Ian on one leg while she quickly shoveled her parritch into her mouth with the other. He reached for her spoon, babbling and banging on the table top when she moved it out of his reach. He stopped abruptly when they heard Rabbie’s startled cry from the parlor - removing the old bandages had pulled at the wound and woken him. Mam’s soothing tones calmed Rabbie but Ian’s face had crumpled in sympathy. He began to wail and arch his back, wriggling in Brianna’s grasp and sliding down in her lap. She pushed her bowl aside and tried to heft Ian back up but he was getting heavy. 

She slid her seat back so Ian wouldn’t hit his head on the table and helped him reach the floor with his feet, standing easily with Brianna’s leg and the chair to lean against. He squealed with ear-piercing delight at the feat and his knees promptly gave out so that he landed hard on his bottom and began wailing again, reaching for Brianna.

She scrambled from her seat to join him on the floor where he took a quick and hard hold of the front of her dress and her hair. She rubbed his back and murmured in the soothing way Da did whenever she was hurt. Ian quieted significantly but remained disagreeable as Brianna worked to distract him.

Auntie Jenny soon appeared to check on them and dispose of the soiled bandages. “Brianna, Rabbie will need some breakfast of his own and yer mam could do with a cup of tea. The parritch for Rabbie is there. Carry it in and I’ll have the tea ready when ye return,” Auntie Jenny said as she swept in and lifted Ian from the floor. She took one whiff of him and scrunched up her face. “Ye’ll be needing changing then, eh?” Ian laughed at her expression.

The parritch was easy to carry without spilling - the tea took more concentration and smaller steps before it was safely in her mother’s hands. 

“Thank you, darling,” Mam said with a smile. She brushed away a smudge of something on Brianna’s cheek before taking a sip. Rabbie sat propped up, the bowl of parritch balanced in his lap as he struggled to feed himself with the opposite hand - Mam had bound the other in place so he couldn’t use it and tear the stitches loose.

Brianna snuggled against Mam, resting her head on her shoulder.

There was a commotion in the kitchen and Brianna could hear Auntie Jenny’s confused tone answered gruffly by Da. 

Brianna ran to see why they were back so soon and heard Mam push herself up from her chair to follow.

Da, Uncle Ian, and Murtagh were huddled near the door as Da collected their firearms. 

“What’s happened?” Mam asked from the doorway, her color draining.

“Fergus spotted redcoats in the distance so we turned back,” Da answered. He moved through the kitchen towards the priest’s hole behind the root cellar with the muskets in hand. “Dinna want to take any risks of losing what little we have left to feed and protect ourselves,” he said when he returned empty handed. He crossed to Mam and kissed her, one hand resting on her belly. “Shouldna be anything to worry over now, Sassenach. The lads are outside not far from the house and will give plenty of warning should they come this way.”

Auntie Jenny and Uncle Ian drifted from the room to commence in rousing the rest of their children for the day. Murtagh settled by the fire with his knife and a small hunk of wood he’d been working on for some time. 

“How’s the patient, then?” Da asked Mam quietly.

She turned to look back towards Rabbie before lowering her voice.

“There’s no fever yet which is a good sign though I’d be more comfortable if I had the means to give him a tetanus shot,” she said with a sigh of frustration. 

Da turned her round in his arms so her back rested against his chest. He wrapped his arms about her with his hands resting on either side of her belly. Mam sighed again but this time in contentment. “I don’t know why but he - or she - always calms down when you do that. Probably the extra warmth.” She tilted her head up to kiss Da on the neck. 

Brianna turned away and moved to sit by Murtagh. The small block was beginning to take shape as the blade shaved the wood away in little curls. He kept the blade of the knife pointed away from him and had a firm hold of it from the bottom. He was rounding off what looked like an animal’s back. 

“Can I try?” Brianna asked as Murtagh paused to blow on the wood and rub a thumb along the grain.

Murtagh glanced back at Mam and Da briefly before shuffling Brianna onto his lap so his back hid their hands from view. He handed her the knife and block but put his own around them so he could guide them slowly and safely. 

“Now ye see here, we’re gon turn this fella ‘round - that’s the rump and this’ll be his heid. We need te shave this closer - not too close, now, or he’d no have tusks,” Murtagh explained in a low voice.

“Tusks? What’s he going to be?” Brianna asked.

“A boar. Ye can add him te yer collection when we’re done,” Murtagh said with a wink.

Maggie and Kitty thought he was mean and said he smelled funny but Brianna didn’t mind and he was always letting her do things that made Mam and Da shake their heads, even as they smiled. 

Brianna returned his wink, relaxing in the warmth of Murtagh’s strong, protective arms. 


End file.
